baby turtles
the rickracked path
to freedom
Saturday, October 10, 2026
Trash Panda, Volume 11, Summer 2026
lungwort lichen my air quality index improves
Bottle Rockets 27.2
if we could
detoxify this world . . .
nettle soup
#FemkuMag 40
A Touch of Sunrise: The Haiku Foundation Volunteer Anthology 2026
I'm honoured to be a content provider for The Haiku Foundation's HaikuLife Film Festival, Haiga Galleries, Haiku of the Day, New to Haiku, Haiku For Parkinson's, re:Virals, among others. I have also donated several artworks to the Gift Shop as tokens of my thanks!
campfire nights
we ride in on the back
of a song
3rd Place, NZPS International Competition, 2025
The Haiku Foundation: Haiku of the Day (formerly Per Diem), October 2026
Selected by Teji Sethi for the theme of "Subverting Stereotpes: Dealing with the Patriarchy in and Through Haiga
forcing bulbs
girls who have learned
the hard way
One Art Haiku Anthology, 2025
Quail Eggs: A Tanka Journal, Issue 6, September 2026
silence runs wild
down these empty halls . . .
a tundra swan
gently rotates the last egg
in her cup-shaped nest
Our Best Haiga: Black and White Haiga/Haisha, October 2026
Curated by Lavana Kray
October 4, 2026: "boarded up" feature
(note: this haiku received Honourable Mention in the 2026 Robert Spiess Contest)
Our Best Haiga: Black and White Haiga/Haisha September 2026
Curated by Lavana Kray
September 5, 2026
(note: this haiku received Honourable Mention in the 2017 BHS Awards)
Only Human: English Language Senryu, Volume 1, Issue 2, September 2026
chicken of the woods it doesn't taste anything like
she forgets the name
of that thing with feathers . . .
flyaway memories
Kokako, Number 45, September 2026
neon lights the flick-flick-flickering of snow
sleeping rough
the dried fungus he uses
for tinder
fierce waves
pummel rocky cliffs . . .
the widow waits
for a boat she knows
will never come home
Lost and Found, Haiku Society of America Members' Anthology 2026
sugar maples
small boys running
until they can't
Shortlisted for Best-of-Issue Award, Presence, Issue 81
Frogpong, Vol. 49, Number 2, Spring/Summer 2026
resealed letter
steam rises from a clump
of moss
father punches
another hole in his belt . . .
slack tide
Folk Ku: A Journal in Honour of Master Masoka Shiki (1867-1902), King River Press, Issue 7, September 2026
a hole
in grandma's eiderdown . . .
falling snow
Daily Haiga: An Edited Journal of Traditional and Contemporary Haiga, September 2026
Featured Artist: September 27, 2026
Note: this haiku was first published in Geppo L:2, 2025
Creatrix: Poetry and Haiku Journal, Number 74, September 2026
father's journal
the torn fringe
of a moth's wing
cave paintings
mustangs give themselves
to the wind
desert mirage
a burrowing owl mimics
the snake's rattle
The Cicada's Cry: A Micro-Zine of Haiku Poetry, Summer 2026
golden sea glass
splashes of light across
a child's face
Blithe Spirit, Volume 36, Number 3, August 2026
river rapids
we make a map
of the water's voice
mollusc trails
the tangle of creases
in father's palms
My thanks to A.A. Marcoff for including the following tanka in his essay, The Nature and History of Tanka:
we zip
our sleeping bags
together
you cradle my body
like a crescent moon
Love, British Haiku Society 30th Anniversary Members' Tanka Anthology 1990-2020
Commentary:
"A poem both intimate and vast as the night sky. Again, that gentle affectionate love, tenderness."
Disability Ways: An Anthology About Disability Gain by d/Deaf and Disabled Writers, Arts Accessibility Network Manitoba, 2026
My thanks to the editors, Diane Driedger and L(ani) Zastre for including my work in this important anthology!
mycelium
entering the woodland
as it enters me,
knurled roots sinking
into moss, lichens, and loam
wearing this empty nest
like a broken crown,
studded with feathers
and eggshell afflictions
breath-bathing between
godly shafts of light,
anointed with the dew
of belongingness
othering here
in this sacred place,
decayed body fruiting
into visibility
Akitsu Quarterly, Fall/Winter 2026
reaped fields standing tall sandhill cranes
mission control
the lead goose give way
to another
torn feedsack
a fox follows
in my footsteps
Thursday, August 13, 2026
The Haiku Foundation, re: Virals, July 2026
re: Virals 565 - July 24, 2026
The Haiku Foundation's weekly poem commentary feature on some of the finest haiku ever written in English. This week's poem was chosen by Jennifer Gurney (thank you, Jennifer):
tidal surge this wave of something unutterable
Haiku Girl Summer, July 2, 2026
New Zealand Poetry Society International Poetry Competition, 2026
My thanks to Graham Bates, the judge of this contest!
the silence
of Candlemas bells . . .
final chemo
3rd Place
Judge's Commentary:
Commonly known as snowdrops, these bulbs got their nickname through their Northern Hemisphere bloom time aligning with the Christian festival of Candlemas. They tell us that it is late winter or early spring, and are associated with purification, light and hope, which in this haiku is also the hope of a successful treatment and recovery. The silence could be an eerie one, but it also brought to mind Thomas Merton's exploration of the concept of silence as the ultimate form of prayer.
shed antlers
bleached by the sun . . .
grandfather's hands
Commended
Judge's Commentary:
Antlers are shed in late winter and early spring, but these must have spent a long time out in the sun to turn chalky white, like the grandfather's arthritic hands with poor circulation, whose fingers struggle to fully open. Of course, antlers, in deer, are associated with masculinity, but these hands cannot be shed and regrown, though they may at times feel as useless as those shed antlers.
Our Best Haiga: Black and White Haiga/Haisha, August 2026
Curated by Lavana Kray
August 6, 2026: "fan" feature
(note: this haiku was included in the 16th Yamadera Basho Contest Selected Haiku Collection, 2024)
Our Best Haiga: Black and White Haiga/Haisha, July 2026
Curated by Lavana Kray
July 6, 2026: "cobweb" feature
(note: this haiku first appeared in Akitsu Quarterly, Winter 2018)
July 13, 2026: Honoured that this haiga was selected as one of the best haiga/haisha submitted in July!
(note: this tanka first appeared in Presence 72, March 2020)
Wednesday, August 12, 2026
Tsuri-doro: A Small Journal of Haiku and Senryu, Issue #34, July/August/September 2026
the tip
of a leveret's tongue . . .
school recess
Triya Mag: Monsoon Edition, July/August 2026
Translated into Hindi
Honoured to have the following haiku selected as Editor's Choice:
cloudfall
mother's face softens
into sleep
Acorn, Number 56, Spring 2026
Commentary by Teji Sethi:
This haiku achieves its subtle power through contrast. The fragment, cloudfall suggests heaviness, thunder, and the forceful descent of rain. Yet in the very next phrase, the image shifts to the mother's face, softening into sleep—a gesture of quiet tenderness.
This haiku by Debbie distills a moment into three lines, embodying the essence of haikai aesthetics. It carries karumi, the lightness that allows the verse to breathe and zoka, the vital energy of nature that makes the image striking. The interplay of a storm's intensity with the gentleness of rest, creates a layered resonance. It reminds us that even within life's turbulence, there is repose.
With this evocative haiku, we open the Monsoon Edition to our readers...
Also included in this edition:
distant slopes
turning blue at twilight
the soft folds
of this tweed blanket draped
around father's shoulders
Runner-up, The Linda Jeannette Ward Tanka Award
British Haiku Society Awards, 2025
Time Haiku, Number 64, August 2026
wolfsnow the howl in it
showy milkweed
the first monarch
and the last
clouds tower
over sun-drenched fields . . .
my sister leans
from a golden turret,
letting down her hair
tuffets sprout
alongside this river . . .
the first
nursery rhyme I read
to our unborn child
rowan trees
dripping with icicles
each berry
a singular moment
frozen inside time
Sundog, Issue 1, July 2026
caribou bones
water bombers release
their payloads
wrack flies
a starling flock gathers
for the feast
Suspect Device Punkzine, Number 18, June 2026
Turning Japanese: War Crimes and Propaganda
My thanks to the editor, Tim Gardiner, for nominating the following poem for a Touchstone Award:
doomsayer
spitting out bile . . .
flecks of sea foam
The Solitary Daisy, Issue 78, July 2026
I'm grateful to the editors, Michele Rule and Sally Quon, for inviting me to submit the following award details for Random Blue Sparks!
1st Place (joint) in the 2026 Haiku Canada Marianne Bluger Book Awards
3rd Place in the 2025 Haiku Society of America Merit Book Awards
Shorlisted for a Haiku Foundation Award
Prune Juice, Issue 49, August 2026
Honoured to be the cover artist for this issue with "Imaginarium"!
The following haiga was also included in this issue:
Presence, Number 85, July 2026
spur trail
a once-red bandana
tied to the stump
crowded pier
legions of seagulls
fully caffeinated
unmown hay
flattened by heavy frost . . .
a small herd
of pronghorn beds down
beside the auction sign
Sakura Fubuki: Pakistan Japan Cultural Association Islamabad (PJCA), First International Multilingual Haiku Anthology, Summer 2026
Thrilled to have the following haiku included in this anthology on the theme of cherry blossoms and translated into Urdu and Japanese:
mother's passing
this fallen branch
of sakura
Mariposa, Number 54, Spring/Summer 2026
beach camp
yooperlites lead us
to the outhouse
(note: yooperlites = fluorescent rocks)
I unlock
the rust-pocked gate . . .
my world
slows down to this moment
of bees, birds, and breath
(note: this tanka was submitted and accepted with the first line as "I unlock", but published in error with the first line as "unlock")
Laurels: Tanka Society of America Online Journal, Number 6, August 2026
My thanks to guest editor Rick Jackofsky for including the following tanka on the theme of "mono no aware"!
at my feet,
cicada shells lie empty
and forlorn . . .
I miss the sound of you
singing our babies to sleep
Leaf Journal, Issue 10, August 2026
crumbling cliffs this loss more than words
seaside fireworks
herring shoals disperse
the light
4-H Club
woolly clouds fluff up
the sky
Heliosparrow Poetry Journal, August 2026
Featured August 4, 2026:
Wagasa
(note: wagasa = traditional Japanese umbrella)
Half Day Moon Journal, Issue No. 4, August 2026
siren songs more than 130 words for wind
wild gentians untwisting the prairie sky
night migration the starred tips of reindeer lichen
jisei : this cairn of smooth, black stones
(note: jisei = death poem)
Haiku Girl Summer, 2026
Curated by Allyson Whipple
July 2, 2026 - Guest Editor, Richa Sharma
tidal surge this wave of something unutterable
beach-tumbled
the agates that will become
my earrings
July 20, 2026 - Guest Haiga Editor, Melanie Alberts
Fresh Out: An Arts and Poetry Collective, July 2026
Curated by Eric A. Lohman
Featured Artist: July 28, 2026
note: ku-kyo = hollow emptiness
Five Fleas Itchy Poetry, July 2026
hurricane cone(head) of uncertainty
paleo dig
the waste chamber
of a whistle-pig
#FemkuMag, Issue 42, Summer 2026
crushing
juniper berries between
our fingers
the scent of gin conjures
unwelcome memories
this world
is unsafe for innocents . . .
a crow
shakes its tail feathers
once, twice, three times
Enchanted Garden Haiku Journal, Issue 16, Lunae Feeria, July 2026
Translated into Romanian
a child's eyes
full of lightning bugs . . .
mason jars
Daily Haiku: Charlotte Digregorio's Writer's Blog, July 2026
Senryu Feature - July 25, 2026
memorial service
our tea sweetened
with sympathy
Enchanted Garden Haiku Journal, Issue 13, 2025
Daily Haiga: An Edited Journal of Traditional and Contemporary Haiga, August 2026
Featured Artist: August 2, 2026
Note: this tanka was first published in Eucalypt 39, 2025
Featured Artist: August 12, 2026
Note: this tanka was first published in Presence 83, 2025
Featured Artist: August 30, 2026
Note: this tanka was first published in Quail Eggs Tanka Journal 3, 2025
Daily Haiga: An Edited Journal of Traditional and Contemporary Haiga, July 2026
Featured Artist: July 5, 2026
Note: this haiku was first published in Seashores 14, April 2025
Contemporary Haibun Online, Issue 22.2, August 2026
Honoured that the following haiga was selected for the cover of this issue, and was also included in the Haiga Gallery. My thanks to Ron Moss!
The Bougainvillea Journal, Issue 2, August 2026
singing bowl
a humpback whale
knows the tune
humid day
our hammock limp
until the bear
Thursday, June 25, 2026
Haiku Canada: Marianne Bluger Awards, 2026
Thrilled to receive joint 1st Place in the 2026 Marianne Bluger Book Awards for Random Blue Sparks! My thanks to the judges.
Judging Commentary:
We were looking for haiku and related forms that ring true; a book or chapbook that demonstrates coherence and flow; and a book design that enhances the poet's work. A tall order, as all of these features work together to engage a reader.
—Terry Ann Carter and Philomene Kocher
Quail Eggs: A Tanka Journal, Issue 5, June 2026
north winds
whipping the snowbanks
into a frenzy . . .
our dog burrows deeper
into her fireside dreams
Haiku 2026: 100 Notable Ku from 2025, Modern Haiku Press, 2026
Thrilled to be included in this anthology edited by Lee Gurga and Scott Metz!
moorland the beginning and onding of snow
(note: "onding" = heavy fall of rain or snow)
NOON: Journal of the Short Poem 27
Modern Haiku, Vol. 57.2, Summer 2026
family reunion
a jumble of shells
at low tide
rotted rafters
fog curdles around
the owl's call
Honourable Mention
Robert Spiess Memorial Haiku Award Competition for 2026
Judge's Commentary:
This one refused to let go of me. I kept returning to it so I could study how its three entities interacted. The fog and the owl's call help to make this haiku feel dreamy and infused with yugen, quiet grace and mystery. When fog curdles, it becomes very dense, transforming into liquid water droplets. Using "curdles" as a verb also seems to imply that something is going sour, adding some menace to the scene. This haiku is essentially about transformation. The solid rafters are rotting. The fog is turning into water droplets. There is also some intriguing synesthesia at work here as the visual fog curdles around the sound of an owl. Matter, shapes, and sounds are all undergoing transformation. In addition, this haiku is full of euphony created by the alliteration of "r" sounds and the consonance of "l" sounds. Plus, there are three words, "curdle," "owl," and "call," that interact in pleasing ways euphonically. And the words "curdles around" yielded a shadow word of "curls," also adding to the movement and shape of this haiku moment.
—Brad Bennett
Museum of Haiku Literature, Japan
I'm honoured to know that Masako Kakutani will introduce "Random Blue Sparks" to haiku poets in Japan who are interested in English-language haiku, and that Haijin Kyokai (Tokyo, Japan) will include my book in the Museum of Haiku Literature collection!
Haiku Girl Summer: A Picnic Sky, 2023 - 2025, 2026
splash pad
bubbles run away
with the light
sun dress
the clear margins
of her biopsy
sand dunes
this path leading
to the clouds
Haiku Girl Summer, 2026
Curated by Allyson Whipple
June 18, 2026 - Guest Editor, C.X. Turner
seaworn stones the journey from your pocket to mine
Fresh Out: An Arts and Poetry Collective, June 2026
Curated by Eric A. Lohman
Featured Artist: June 9, 2026
(note: this haiku first appeared in Mayfly 62, 2017)
Daily Haiku: Charlotte Digregorio's Writer's Blog, June 2026
rotted rafters
fog curdles around
the owl's call
Honourable Mention
The Robert Spiess Memorial Haiku Awards, 2026
distant slopes
turning blue at twilight
the soft folds
of this tweed blanket draped
around father's shoulders
Runner-up
The British Haiku Society Linda Jeannette Ward Tanka Award, 2025
Eucalypt, Issue 40, May 2026
fishmongers
hawk their silvery wares
on the beach
small girls gather sequins
from a mermaid's dress
Autumn Moon Haiku Journal, 9:2, Spring/Summer 2026
gleaning wrens
we donate your clothes
to the shelter
requiem
tamarisk leaves let go
of their salt
Monday, June 08, 2026
Forestry England - The Magic of Maples Haiku Competition, 2026
Honoured to receive a Commendation in this competition. Over 550 haiku were submitted from around the world. The winning, placed, commended, and honourable mentioned poems will all form part of an outdoor exhibition at Westonbirt Arboretum during the autumn season (September - November) 2026. My thanks to the judges, Emiko Miyashita, Lev Hart, and Andrew Shimield!
fallen leaves
our dog jumps into a sea
of crimson
Geppo: The Haiku Work-Study Journal of the Yuki Teikei Haiku Society, Volume L1:1, February 2026
November 2025 - January 2026
a chick roosting
on the barn cat's head . . .
snowdrifts
scattered flurries
a blue jay buries nuts
in the window box
Winter Challenge Kigo: First Winter Rain, hatsu shigure
first winter rain
for a moment I thought
you walked beside me
Honoured to know that "a chick roosting" was included among the favourites of Dojin Patricia J. Machmiller, and "scattered flurries" was included among the favourites of Dojins Hiroyuki Murakami and Patricia J. Machmiller.
Also honoured that "scattered flurries" was included among the "Voted Best" in the subsequent issue.
Geppo: The Haiku Work-Study Journal of the Yuki Teikei Haiku Society, Volume L:4, November 2025
August - October 2025
All Hallows' Eve an intermittent flurry of snow ghosts
embers burn holes
in their makeshift tent . . .
first frost
Autumn Challenge Kigo: Autumn Deepens, aki fukashi
deep autumn
cranberries anchor
the bog
Honoured to know that "All Hallows' Eve" was included among the favourites of Dojin Emiko Miyashita, and "embers burn holes" was included among the favourites of Dojins Emiko Miyashita and Phillip Kennedy.
Sunday, June 07, 2026
Keeping Faith, Yuki Teikei Haiku Society 50th Anniversay Members' Anthology 1975 - 2025, 2025
My thanks to the editor, Gregory Longenecker!
freight train the rags of a vagabond moon
candy floss
hair ice transforms
a rotten branch
Members' Celebratory Haiku:
fox's wedding
this metamorphosis
of light
Also included in this anthology is "The Poet's Journey" by Ellen Brooks, who created and performed a kyogen style dance using haiku composed by the society's members. The dance was performed at the society's fiftieth anniversary dinner held on May 10, 2025, and again at the Haiku Retreat on November 6, 2025. I was over the moon to know that the following two haiku were incorporated into her performance:
my body
becoming weightless . . .
spindrift
yutori
offering my held breath
to the wind
(note: yutori = the Japanese philosophy of creating space (mentally, physically, and emotionally) for joy and longevity)
Password: Journal of Very Short Poetry, Issue 3.2, June 2026
K-shaped
the beetle in her belly
dive in
Frogpond, Vol. 49, Number 1, Winter 2026
Thrilled that the following poem was selected by Joan C. Fingon and Lee Hudspeth for inclusion in their essay: "Somewhere Over the Rainbow: The Power of Color in Haiku":
Section: Color Words and Parts of Speech
"Strange's poem below gives equal weight to "dandelion" and "yellow" in the beginning and at the end of the monoku. By separating the two words, i.e., instead of writing "yellow dandelions," the poet emphasizes the yellowness of the entire experience. Here, "yellow"—as a primary color and as a property—is equally as important as the flower's color and the mood it represents.
dandelions the multiplication factor of yellow
Bottle Rockets #45
Frogpond, Vol. 48, Number 3, Autumn 2025
Honoured that this issue contains a lovely review of Random Blue Sparks by Allyson Whipple which can be accessed under the book's tab of this blog. Also featured in this issue are the results of the 2025 Haiku Society of America Merit Book Awards in which Random Blue Sparks placed third. The judges' report can also be found under the book's tab of this blog.
Waka Society of America, Petals Journal (Waka in English), 2026
that afternoon
we lay together beyond
our garden wall . . .
undulating mosses still
mimic the shape of you
one window
remains in the church
where we danced
coloured shafts of light
tango with shadows
I weave
a mourning cloak on the loom
of your loss,
obsidian threads pulled from
storm clouds and starless nights
this dull ache
of yearning every autumn . . .
I recall how
the wind played with your hair,
your hands played with mine
Blossoms in the Breeze: Twenty Years of Haiku from the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival, 2026
Thrilled to be included in this gorgeous anthology of the top winners of the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival Haiku Invitational from 2006-2025. Grateful thanks to the 2017 VCBF Judges, Devar Dahl, Angelee Deodhar, and Billie Wilson, and to the editor, Michael Dylan Welch!
transience . . .
petal by petal
we let go
Canada Winner
Upstate Dim Sum, Route 9 Haiku Group - A Biannual Anthology of Haiku and Senryu, Number 1, Spring 2026
Honoured to be the guest poet for this issue of Upstate Dim Sum!
bowed lyre
a willow shouldering
the wind
an obituary
I did not expect to see . . .
frost smoke
someone's mitten
frozen to the slough . . .
fallow fields
empty beach
gulls have lost their reason
to squawk
whale bones
snow makes a church
of them
inky caps
make their own puddles . . .
valley rain
Special thanks to Ion Codrescu for creating this lovely haiga for inclusion in the issue:
Ribbons, Volume 22, Number 1, Spring/Summer 2026
the old oak
leans against our fence
all those times
you held me up when
I was about to fall
Tsuri-doro: A Small Journal of Haiku and Senryu, Issue #33, May/June 2026
the missing pocket
on a veteran's jeans . . .
scud clouds
Sonic Boom, World Collage Day 2026
My thanks to Shloka Shankar and Robin Smith for selecting the following collage for inclusion in Sonic boom's lovely World Collage Day eBook (24 collages were selected from 80 submissions):
Sommergras: Magazine of the German Haiku Society, Issue 152, March 2026
Translated into German
Honoured to have the following collaborative haiga included in this issue:
photograph: Claudia Brefeld
haiku: Debbie Strange
Seashores - An International Journal to Share the Spirit of Haiku, Vol. 15, April 2026
today is the day . . .
our ginkgo tree drops
every leaf
walrus tusks
a rusty pickaxe stuck
in the glacier
Our Best Haiga: Black and White Haiga/Haisha, May 2026
Curated by Lavana Kray
May 16, 2026
(note: this tanka art first appeared in Ribbons 17.2, Spring/Summer 2021)
May 31, 2026: "fly" feature (included among Selected Best/Fly for May)
(note: this haiga first appeared in Haiga in Focus #67 in colour)
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